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Fire departments from Peabody, Hillsboro, and Goessel responded to a house fire at 12:40 a.m. Sunday at the residence of Elmer Delk. They battled the fire for four hours.

The home, on Limestone Rd. between 110th and 120th Rds., was a total loss, with only the north side left standing. The cause of the fire is unknown.

Thirty firefighters from the three departments were under the command of Mark Penner, Peabody fire chief.

The residents were not home at the time, said Steve Rose, Peabody assistant chief.

“It’s difficult for a family to come home and see devastation like that,” he said. “You totally get shocked when you come up to something like that.”

Rose said he was thankful no one was injured.

“That was one of the blessings, when we found out they weren’t around,” he said. “You worry about life first and property second.”

Firefighters in small towns have the advantage of knowing families they protect, Rose said.

“They know what to look for when something like this goes down,” he said. “If there were animals, or the rooms somebody could be in. That’s one of the advantages of rural fires, everybody knows everybody.”